


First Blood

by MandoKain



Series: Aliit [9]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Assassination, Gen, Prequel, fuck the trade federation, undercover Blink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 12:10:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20192071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MandoKain/pseuds/MandoKain
Summary: Blink has a scar on his cheek. This is how he got it.





	First Blood

Blink hissed. The cut stung as he wiped it clean before gingerly placing a last bacta patch over it. His first unarmored fight in a long while had not gone as well as he might like. Tossing the wipe and the backing for the bacta patches into the bin, he yawned, then leaned back against the toilet, wincing. “Ow.”

He looked over his reflection in the mirror. Around the cut on the left side of his face, the skin was bruised, an ugly mottled purple and red that was turning yellow around the edges. He’d won, but not soundly. He’d been made to work for it. The cut had taken three patches to cover, all at odd angles, and went from just left of his nose in a flattened crescent up to his temple.

All things considered, everything else had gone fairly well. The one altercation with the guard had been the only unseen difficulty, and he was pleased with his own ability to be so efficient while working solo. The clothes had been… effective, though somewhat impractical. He’d had to be able to get in, after all. What was it with dignitaries and shiny clothes? How did they not all go kriffing blind? His outfit, carefully curated to be appropriate without being noticeable, had had none of the sparkling material he’d seen on the delegates. Instead he’d worn a deep blue, close-cut suit and a long, but not gaudy, yellow coat. With his hair combed sleekly back, he looked like someone’s aide or secretary, brought along for the mundane tasks of diplomacy and politics. He’d also decided, near the last minute, that makeup would probably be a good idea. He’d had some practice, and not looking like a clone was something he could do. While he couldn’t actually change the shape of his face, when he’d finished his nose shape, cheekbones, and chin were all seamlessly altered, making his face appear thinner, sharper. Eye makeup, colorful but not flashy, had been the last thing; aides would be expected to look well turned out, but anything too obvious would risk outshining their boss. Satisfied with the elegant green and blue gradient, Blink had done a last check of his attire and patted himself down. He knew where his weapons were, but a check by palace guards would catch nothing. _Kal always said getting in was the easy bit. Getting out is where it gets tricky._

* * *

He’d gotten past the entry checks surprisingly easily. Apparently the invite and identification he’d made had been modelled off of one with an expedited entry, which was a nice stroke of luck, though he did still get pat down by a guard. A hand wave, and he went in.

Blink mingled, though he was careful to let everyone else talk far more than he did. Though he had a target, he knew that even political gossip could prove useful, so he listened to and listened in and made note. He was biding his time, waiting, watching. The particular individual he was waiting on had yet to arrive.

Finally, the representative was announced and lauded with much fanfare. He gave an exaggerated expression of his gratitude before everyone went back to mingling. Blink knew his crowd, and took the opportunity to vanish when their attention was focused elsewhere.

The hall where the reception was being held had viewing galleries above the main floor, though they were currently unoccupied. The upstairs was not permitted to guests. That was less of a physical obstacle, however, and more a proviso of this meeting that Blink was choosing to ignore. He wasn’t a guest, in any case, despite the exceptional invitation, and he’d already made short work of scouting the building a while back. He had two options. The first one he made his way to carefully, his walk slightly stiff in the way of someone unsure of their surroundings. He made sure his coat was bundled properly, all the fastenings done to conceal the blue suit. Blink found the stairwell and went up it, but found his way blocked at the top.

“Sorry, sir. No guests are permitted to the upper levels.”

“Oh! My mistake, I’m terribly sorry. I’m just a bit, er… lost.” He gave them a sheepish smile. “Where’s the refresher, please?”

“That would be back down and to your right, the door has a sign on it. You were just a bit short, sir,” the guard replied kindly.

“Thank you so much,” Blink replied, relief in the delicately lilting tones. He hurried back down and in the direction the guard had indicated, then paused, checking the way. No one was in the corridor currently. He moved to the door just next to the fresher and stepped through. It was dark, and he waited until the light flickered on. “Typical,” he muttered. “All the amenities the diplomats could want, but the service staff have flickering lights.” He headed down the corridor, moving quickly and silently in case any of the staff were approaching, but they were out on the floor. This maintenance hall was deserted. He stopped, hung the coat in a broom closet, then found the door he was looking for, with a helpful decal next to it. He pressed the button and waited for the door to open, stepping into the lift. It rattled slightly as it rose, opening two floors above in another maintenance hall. Blink checked quickly and hurried out of the hall and onto the second floor. He flicked a glance around. _All right. Go sight your target, get it over with, and get gone. Deep breath._ He could do this. He’d been trained for this. Solo missions were just a thing you had to do sometimes, and he just happened to be doing them for the rest of his life. Right. He didn’t need backup. He was this good.

Blink headed for the gallery alcove, keeping his movements not noticeable. With the flamboyance of the decor even up here, the color was less of a problem than he might have been worried about. Blink still kept himself relatively hidden, pressed up against the curved booth. He drew one throwing knife carefully from under the coat, holding it concealed as he studied the crowd. He tracked the Federation representative, holding the knife at the ready, waiting. “Move, damn you,” he breathed, glaring at the back of some aristocrat’s head. He needed a clear shot for this, and it wasn’t like knives came with a sight. Nominally yes, a blaster rifle would have done the job, but blasters were also loud, and obvious, and he wanted quiet, and subtle.

This Federation rep… every time he opened his mouth it made Blink’s skin crawl. Blink knew some things about this guy, and he was responsible for both weapons dealings and horrendous labor conditions in the factories under his control. It was disgusting. And here he was schmoozing posh rich bastards like the damn chancellor.

Whatever slimy deals he was making here, they could not be allowed to continue.

The Neimoidian went down like a rag doll. The knife sprouting from his neck did little to stop the flow of blood, and some poor fool, probably thinking they were helping, pulled the knife out, causing the victim to bleed out even faster. Blink drew back before anyone looked up and was already heading back down. The stairs appeared clear of guards, and he was going towards them quickly when he heard a shout. Blink turned, his face a picture of surprise and confusion.

“This is a restricted area!” The guard ran up to him, scowling. “None of the guests are meant to be up here.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I just got curious and wanted to look around, and then I heard shouting from the hall, what’s happened?” It was not his best work, and he wished briefly he had that Jedi talent for making his words believable. The guard, suspicions already heightened from the attack, frowned even deeper.

“There were men on the stairs up here, you would have been seen wandering around.” He reached for Blink. “You’re going to have to come with me.”

The assassin shifted, shoving the guard’s arm out of the way. Realising he was not dealing with some pansy aristocrat, the guard pulled his knife. The two fought, Blink dodging blows and delivering a few of his own. The guard was well trained, and Blink was panting. One lucky swing from the man caught his cheek, and Blink hissed sharply. He brought his first up hard, slamming it into the man’s lower jaw so hard his teeth clacked as they hit. The force of it sent the guard sprawling backwards and Blink took off. As he rounded the corner he heard the stunned guard’s comm go off.

He ducked into the service corridor and raced down until he got to the closet where he’d hidden the yellow coat. He pulled it on and fastened it, grateful for its hood. One black glove pressed to his cheek, and he winced again. It hurt. He stepped out and went towards the hall and the front entrance lowering his head when the guards went past. He heard a man alerting the others, “blue suit, it is a man in a blue suit, last seen making his way towards the east exit!” They passed Blink by without even glancing at him. He joined the throng of guests being cleared out for their own safety, and once outside, slipping away from the crowd was easy.

Once he’d arrived back at his current residence he’d removed the coat and tossed it and the suit top aside. They would have to be cleaned; the cut had dripped on both. The whole side of his face ached, and as he removed the makeup in preparation to tend to the injury, he had watched the bruise blossom. Now the mottled colors framed the pale patch that covered the cut. Bacta or not, that would scar. A marker of his first true solo mission. He wasn’t sure yet if he liked the idea or not. He would have to see what it looked like when it healed.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be posting more snapshots and backstories in this series, so you'll get to learn more about this crew. I will be adding some Smoke Squad too, as well as some of the stories about the kids.


End file.
